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Another Bahama trip in "Someday Came"

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cdavis

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2003
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One more Bahama trip in “Someday Came”, my Seafari 25.

This trip had an unusual prelude. Last year, I broke a stringer in my 37 year old Seafari. Discovered this in December and spent the next 6 months frantically repairing stringers, replacing rotten bulkheads discovered in the process, adding more reinforcing bulkheads, etc etc. Since I had never done anything like this, there were more that a few time consuming screw-ups during the process. The results ain't exactly pretty, but its all under the deck, nobody but me can see it and its stronger than when the boat was new. Did nothing else out side of work, no cardio, no freedive practice, no nothing. Just work on the boat like crazy then go straight to Bimini and dive. Not the best plan, but necessary. Turned out my shallow water performance was unaffected, still getting nice long 2 minute + frc dives in 40 ft. Depth was something else. Last year 33 m on frc turned into 23 meters is hard. Oh well, I've got work to do.

We(me, my youngest son, and Unirdna, Ted) crossed from Lauderdale to Bimini in good weather, June 25, Ted's weather juju in full-on mode. Bimini is getting very civilized, plenty of ice available, even an internet connection from the boat using the Big Game Club's Yfi, big yachts all over the place, even a few mega yachts. Nice to have the ice, but the rest of it is no improvement.

Spent all the first day north of Bimini, looking for the elusive spotted dolphins. No luck. Several other boats were looking too, but “Indigo”, the charter that specializes in dolphins, wasn't around. I suspect they knew something we didn't.

Next go south toward Beach Cay, about 20 miles S of Bimini, diving known spots all the way. Fish and lobster were a bit scarce, but plenty to feed us, until we got as far south as Riding Rock, where it got good. Found several new areas. Saw no large Black, Nassau or Yellowfin grouper. Did find big hogfish and lots of'em. Plenty of Coney grouper, my favorite, with enough Mutton Snapper to make variety(thank you, Ted, muttons are hard to shoot). Shoot a Margate (big grunt)to see if the rumor that it makes good hash was true. Absolutely true! Huge remoras, big enough to feed us all. One of these days I'm going to shot one and find out if the taste is as good as cobia, to which they are related. Big turtles all around and a few aggressive sharks to keep us honest. The number of big turtles was exceptional, never seen so many. Best of all, Unirdna found one of those monster reef crabs, fabulous eating. Boy do I like that area. Total of 8 days, 6 full days of diving, and a good time was had by all. A few pics below as soon as I can post'em.. Unirdna should have more coming.

Visibility varied with the tide. Out going was sorry, 40 ft or so. It was windy and the shallow water was pretty stirred up. Incoming was typical great, somewhere around 30 m +. 82-83 degrees F water temp. One mill shorty suits were all we needed.

I am more than a little proud of my boat. It performed flawlessly, rides much better than my previous boat, which was no slouch at rough water. I can sit down and drive in almost any sea. We had a chance to try out really crazy conditions. A mega yacht came by, going astonishingly fast, 100 ft long and going faster than me. We jumped its wake, just to see what it was like. I hit the 5 ft wake perpendicular to it and without slowing down, about 24 knots. The boat launched toward the sky, coming all the way out of the water, props screaming. On the way down I remember thinking, “ this was NOT a good idea,” anticipating a real jolt on landing. No jolt, no bang, no bump, nothing, smooth as a baby's butt. I could not believe it, but , boy was I happy . Most efficient cruise is a few knots slower in the Seafari compared to my old boat, but, most of the time I'm running 2-4 knots faster and in greater comfort, because the ride is so much better. This one will take me a whole lot deeper into the Bahamas. Expect reports from the Exumas, Rum Cay and Conceptcion. Its only 400 miles and gas money, what the heck.

One negative thing. Its easy to forget that the most dangerous thing out there isn't sharks or BO, its the propellers. We dive with one guy in the boat, following the divers. It is absolutely critical that the driver keep track of where the divers are and when the boat is in gear, props turning. When it gets rough, that is no easy thing. We had two instances, one while I was driving, of a diver very nearly getting into the props. Unirdna will have some choice words on this.

I haven't had a close call in so many years I don't remember the last time, but people get killed like that all the time. For sure, I need to rethink prop safety. I'll be ready by next trip.


Next trip October, dolphins again and back to Hole in the Wall if the weather lets us.

Connor
 

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